#curator rambles

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Things i did not forsee when writing fic: researching acient math and geometry to write my esoteric Chance x player character fanfiction.

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Liam O’Brian really is a master of the subtly terrifying character. It’s a recurring process now. 

“Oh hallo, I’m Caleb, I’m a nerdy wizard who smells and misses shaving IBURNOUTHISEYES and I love my cat and books and I’m socially awkward ILIKETHEWAYFIREFEELS Please don’t give me wet willies, I’m squishy and a coward I’LLGOTOWORKIFINEEDTO Oh la-dee-da, look at me, I’m a massive dweeb wearing an octopus on his head FJORDWEMADEABLOODPACTYOUOWEMEAFAVOR!

Caleb is definitive Crouching Tiger, Hidden Nightmare and I love him for it.

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Two things. 1) I have to be up at 5 for work tomorrow but I’m writing this instead like an idiot, and 2) I’m a little nervous about posting this because I feel like this is poking at a hornets’ nest of drama I’d rather not deal with, but I do have some thoughts that I hope can be... encouraging, I guess.

Ever since this Adventures in Pirateland arc began, almost every episode that’s aired has come with a bevy of comments about the inadequacy of the Mighty Nein’s moral compass, how this looks to be turning into an evil campaign, how they’re failing to live up to Molly’s inspiration, etc. And to be honest I don’t really understand this outlook. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited and hoping to watch the M9 evolve into heroes as much as the next person, and I’m certain it will happen eventually. But expecting it so soon just seems like an unrealistic expectation, for a number of reasons.

For one, the Mighty Nein have got a long way to go before they reach that point. I see them compared to Vox Machina on occasion, which I don’t think is really fair. As a collective whole, Vox Machina were already chaotic good from the start. From what we know of their backstories and what we’ve been told of their pre-stream adventures, only really Grog came from a hostile, aggressive background and was raised to reflect it, and with the rest of the group surrounding him, his more chaotic neutral temperament could be wrangled. With the Mighty Nein, the majority have grown up in hostile or damaging circumstances and have developed survival techniques to deal with it. Fjord was an orphan that went to extremes for his own survival. Beau was an ACTUAL criminal; it’s literally her character background. Caleb was ACTUALLY lawful evil for some years of his life. Nott grew up in goblin society, Jester was isolated and worships a trickster god, and even Caduceus operates on a “law of nature” morality system. They’re chaotic neutral to the max. Their makeup is not naturally tuned to goodness; that’s something they’re going to have to really work at. Expecting them to switch on a dime is a lot to expect.

Second, a lot of people seem unhappy with how they’re not following Molly’s “leave places better” policy, like Molly’s scolding them from the afterlife or something. Again, I think that’s an incomplete version of Molly that people are looking to. Once a character dies, especially a fan favorite, people tend to put them on pedestals. Molly had some good ideals and I believe he was a good person, but he was far from a moral paragon. He did shitty things too, guys. He made Caleb uncomfortable on purpose to teach him a lesson. He used Charm spells on the others against their wills. He signed up with the Gentleman just as readily as the others, and I don’t think the Gentleman makes it his business to leave places better than he found them. Molly didn’t have his life all together. A lot of people seem to like his “that person is not me” perspective, and I think it’s a great character trait, but it wasn’t necessarily a healthy or responsible one. So, by struggling to get their feet under them in terms of what their morality is, I don’t think the Mighty Nein are tarnishing the memory of their friend who was probably just as clueless as they were, he was just better at hiding it. 

Third, a lot of people seem to forget that not all of the Mighty Nein were on board with following Molly’s lead. That was mostly just Beau. The big takeaway that Nott got from the experience was that she cared about their weird little family and would do anything to save them, the others weren’t even there, and Caleb is a moral mess that probably needs to address his own issues first before digging into the greater good of things. The big turn around from Molly’s death when it came to the group was more about them learning to accept how much they cared about each other and placing their trust in one another, not about becoming more altruistic. That’s progression that we are seeing this arc: Fjord’s being more open and honest, Beau is confessing how some of the stuff they do doesn’t sit right with her, Caleb is growing into more of a team player, etc. 

And fourth, they ARE in a precarious position right now. Avantika might seem easygoing with them right now, but there’s no telling how quickly she’ll turn on them if they don’t dance to her tune. Even the Plank King himself is telling them to watch their backs while they’re working with her. In this tricky spot (trying to stay alive, trying to help Fjord figure out his situation, as well as trying to establish their morality), things are going to be shaky.

To sum up my thesis on the matter: I believe the M9 will become heroes in their own rights, I just think it’s unreasonable to expect it now. Most of them have been raised in situations that don’t automatically incline them toward altruism, they’re in a tricky spot right now, and while I believe Molly’s influence will play a part in making them more selfless and heroic, it’s not as much of a priority for them right now as supporting and learning to trust each other is. They’ll get there, don’t worry, I believe it wholeheartedly. But we’re not even at the level where we met Vox Machina, and most of their stories haven’t even been touched on yet. There’s still plenty of time for growth and change. Just relax, take a deep breath, and try to enjoy the chaotic neutral shenanigans. Once they come into their own, it’ll be even more amazing to look back and see how far they’ve gone. 

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Sooo... after the craziness of that little venture and how that drow guy knew who Yasha was... perhaps we’ve all been looking at this thing wrong? What if blond guy is actually a member of a third faction we don’t even know about yet? Yes, he’s in with the higher ups in the Empire, but that doesn’t exempt him from having potential outside loyalties or being another traitor in their midst.

Perhaps there’s another faction in play, specifically one tied to Xhorhas and the Crawling King, one that Yasha may have been involved with at some point. Yasha’s had dreams involving worms consuming the land, and the blond guy was reading a book about that Betrayer God. He could just have be using his position in the Empire to further a separate agenda, using the war as a distraction.

I don’t know. This suddenly doesn’t seem so simple. I’m sure what the M9 overheard concerning the Empire’s plans of attack are legit, but their blond target and his rendezvous might be another matter entirely.

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Been rewatching Campaign 2 (like you do) and something Caleb said in episode 16 popped up that’s making me squint. When Molly, Fjord, and Beau are talking about trying their fungus drugs, Caleb says that he has some bad association with the stuff, and I don’t think that’s ever been explained. What’s all that about? Is it just a character point, like Caleb’s just not into drugs, or is it yet another disturbing link to his early life? I’m really kind of hoping it’s just Caleb alluding to say, that one time at school where he tried some goods and then freaked out when the walls started melting, rather than yet another aspect of his life that’s horribly fucked up. 

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Being a Caleb and Beau stan in equal measure is an interesting situation, because on the one hand the Caleb Lore is always Good Shit and a lot of fun to speculate on, but then Beau keeps getting shafted on the meta and getting dissed in Twitch chat and you WANT that good Beau Lore and she deserves all the good things, so then you’re just confused and a little mad, but why?

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After watching through the scene with the murals in episode 40, I caught a detail I missed the first time. Matt described each mural containing a crowd of people along with the chosen ones and the monsters. The crowds on each mural were detailed enough to tell that the types of clothes they wore were all different, denoting different peoples. My guess is that this indicates the peoples of the Menagerie Coast, the Dwendalian Empire, and Xhorhas, seeing as those are the three major regions Matt has established for this campaign. So it’s likely that at least the temples of the three creatures are limited to these areas, if not the missing eyes themselves: Uk’otoa’s temples out on the sea and along the coast, the worm’s would probably be in Xhorhas (Yasha dreamt of the land crawling with worms), and the firebird would be left for the Empire. 

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So I don’t usually make text posts or metas, I just need to dump some thoughts that have been stewing in my head for a while, and after this latest episode they are now boiling over. 

I’ve thought this for a while, but after the discovery of the murals in the temple of Uk’otoa, I’m now pretty thoroughly convinced that whatever kind of endgame Matt might be considering for this campaign, it’s going to be absolutely cosmic in scale. Across the whole campaign there have been consistent hints toward several of the Betrayer Gods: the theme of the carnival performance in the very first episode, the communion bowl of Tiamat, Sif Duthar’s lab and his notes on the Crawling King, Uk’otoa being the emissary of Zehir, the Dwendalian Empire going to war with Lolth’s people in Xhorhas, and the recurring appearance of chains hinting toward the Chained Oblivion, who was also mentioned several times in the first campaign by the by, and who seemed like THE Big Bad of the Calamity. And this isn’t even going into hanging plot threads from Campaign 1 that might come back to bite them, like the still missing second horn of Orcus and Arkhan the Cruel out there somewhere with the Hand of Vecna. Some of these might end up being false leads, but there’s been so many hints that I don’t imagine this campaign will be allowed to end without at least one Betrayer God making an appearance. Suffice to say, a shitstorm of epic proportions is brewing in Exandria’s future.

And the people that are burrowing (mostly unintentionally) to the heart of it all... are the Mighty Nein. Which is kind of blowing my mind. 

You know, even after watching three times as much of Vox Machina as I have the Mighty Nein, I still like the Mighty Nein a bit more. I’m sure some of that is some bias because I watched Campaign 2 first, but I think a large part is also because of who this party is. Even back when Vox Machina were The SHITS, most of them had something greater than average about them or in store for them. Percy was in exile, but he was still the heir of Whitestone. Keyleth was preparing to lead her people. The twins and Taryon came from money even if they didn’t embrace it completely. Tiberius was an important political figure’s son. Even Grog was the son of a chieftain. 

But the M9? An orphan, a cast-out rebel child, a graveyard keeper, a carnie, the sheltered daughter of a courtesan, an ex-child soldier, a goblin, and whatever the hell is Yasha’s deal. None of them come from greatness, or are even adjacent to it by association. They’re reckless and dumb and all very messed up in their own ways, to a greater degree than most of Vox Machina were. Most of them have been alone or at least felt alone for large portions of their lives, and even now, forty episodes into things, they’re still just edging into “We’re friends, right?” territory.

And yet these guys, THESE GUYS, are being set up against ALL of the shit I mentioned above, so much shit that if even half of it comes to fruition, it’s going to make Vecna look like a goddamn picnic in the park. It’s crazy and ridiculous and kinda scaring the hell out of me because this chaos vortex of a group going up against gods seems incomprehensible at the moment... but imagining what it’ll be like to see them reach the point where they can do it, how these nutballs are going to develop into the kind of people that could hold the fate of the world in their hands, has me so goddamn excited for what waits in the future. As much as I adore Vox Machina, seeing this group that’s going to have to overcome so much, internally as well as externally, to become legends is appealing to me in so many ways. I’m terrified, but I also can’t wait, and Fjord’s arc of pure lore dump is not helping.

I’m really feeling the Mercer send-off tonight. Is it Thursday yet???